Is auto body repair profitable?
Starting Your Own Business: Organizing Auto Body Repair in a Car Service Center
Opening a body repair center is a rather expensive but profitable business idea. The average cost of body repair is 5,000–15,000 rubles. Body repair is a versatile service; it isn't strictly tied to specific car models or brands. Demand for body repair is present and will only grow over time.
There will certainly be no shortage of work, especially if you can negotiate with an insurance company, which can direct a whole stream of clients to body repair.
Another advantage of body repair is that the location of the auto repair center isn't particularly important. The work is expensive and quite complex, and many centers have significant quality issues, so clients are willing to travel to a different area, let alone a different city.
A car body has a specific shape and dimensions, determined by production. There are certain benchmarks that allow you to compare how "as it is now" matches "as it should be." Several categories of damage levels can be distinguished. The first category includes dents and scratches on body panels. The second category includes damage that doesn't affect the vehicle's handling or the position of major components (door jambs, B-pillar deformation, etc.). The third category includes damage that results in displacement of major vehicle components, deformation of side members, or displacement of shock absorber cups. The fourth category includes the previous three, but with distortions affecting at least three window or door openings. And finally, the fifth category is "to the junkyard."
If the repair is serious, the body needs to be straightened. If only the exterior parts (such as fenders or bumpers) are damaged, then replacing them or, sometimes, straightening them is sufficient. The body shop's workflow is roughly as follows: first, the damage to the car is assessed, after which the client is offered several repair options—replacing or restoring body panels, using original parts or parts from salvage yards, etc. If everything is agreed upon with the client, the car is sent for repair.
Before beginning body straightening, everything that will interfere must be removed from the car—the interior, glass, panels, etc.
This is called reinforcement work. Ideally, this should not be done by a body shop, but by a separate person who may not know anything about body repair, but is meticulous and thorough. Not everyone has the patience to package the fasteners for each part in separate bags and label them.
Storing the removed parts should be planned in advance; this is sometimes forgotten. After repair, the vehicle must regain its original geometry and strength, especially the geometry of the lower body, as all suspension components are attached to it and it bears the main load. The extent of damage only affects the time required to restore the body.
For body stretching, either a floor-mounted body straightening system, a frame stand, or a robotic stand will be required.
A floor-mounted system is the ideal solution for a body shop focused on light and medium repairs.
This area should be organized so that the vehicle, once entered, leaves it heading toward the paint booth. This means the area must have everything necessary for the technological operations required for assembly and disassembly, body repair, and paint preparation. Floor-mounted systems are secured using concrete pouring and consist of platforms or metal platforms with mounting points for power equipment. They are versatile and can be used to repair virtually any vehicle.
Body straightening stands come in various configurations, ranging from the cheapest, which are designed as a separate frame, to stands with a built-in scissor lift. A stand with a lift is more expensive, but it can be used to work on the underside of the body. A more advanced option is a stand with a lift and a platform.
Robotic stands are the most expensive; they are usually fully equipped with all the necessary tools and a measuring system.
There are two body straightening technologies: classic and template-based. With the classic method, the car body is secured to the stand at four points, usually by the sills. The body is then pulled, while the dimensions are measured at control points and compared with a standard, until everything is "as it should be."
The advantages of the classic method include relatively simple and quick vehicle attachment and the relatively low cost of such a stand.
The disadvantage is that when one point is pulled, others may shift, requiring constant body measurements, which naturally increases the time it takes to complete the job.
When using the template method, the car body is secured to the frame using specially designed holes.